Drop house found after tip from man in underwear (Arizona Republic)

Drop house found after tip from man in underwear

by JJ Hensley - Apr. 30, 2008 07:04 PM
The Arizona Republic

An underwear-clad man running down the street alerted Phoenix Police to an immigrant drop house in the West Valley late Wednesday afternoon.

A customer at the QuikTrip near 83rd Avenue and Encanto Boulevard called police shortly after 5 p.m. Wednesday to tell them a man dressed only in his underwear was apparently fleeing three other men who had kidnapped him, said Phoenix Police Lt. Joe Tomory.

Police arrived on the scene and ultimately discovered a drop house around the corner, in the 8300 block of Alvarado Street, containing 20 undocumented immigrants.

Initial reports indicated that the armed men were chasing the victim who reported the incident, but police found no weapons or human smugglers at the scene, Tomory said.

The scene was wrapped up in about an hour, with the Phoenix Police detaining the immigrants pending a review from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Tomory said.